The provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan today said it is well aware of the issues of religious minorities in the country and will address the problems of Sikh and other communities on priority basis.
The government is making efforts to award rights to minorities besides bringing improvement in their socio-economic status, said Advisor to Chief Minister KP for Tourism, Sports and Youth Affairs, Amjad Afridi, addressing Sikh pilgrims during Baisakhi fair at the historic Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Punjab province's Hasan Abdal town.
He said all "genuine rights" would be accorded to the minorities and issues confronted by the Sikh community would be resolved on priority basis.
"The issue of domicile for minorities residing in tribal areas has been resolved and now any person from minority community can directly contact the provincial government for any grievance," he said.
Over 1,700 Sikh pilgrims from India are in Pakistan to celebrate Baisakhi festival at the historic Gurdwara Panja Sahib.
During their 10-day stay, the Sikh pilgrims would also visit other Gurdwaras in the Punjab province.
Addressing the pilgrims from India, Afridi invited the them to visit Gurdwaras in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and said Pukhtuns and Sikh community have most of the combined traditional history and both lived together for a long time.
The provincial government, he said would offer warm welcome to the Sikh tourists in Khyber Pakthunkhwa.
Speaking on the occasion, Special Assistant to CM, Sardar Sooran Singh, suggested that people from religious minorities should be recruited in police for the security of their holy places.
The provincial government, he said has recruited 10 police constables from minority communities for the security of the holy places.
